Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Anticorruption activists say forces linked with former president Soeharto's Golkar Party are attempting to obstruct the fight against Indonesia's deep-rooted graft.
"With full awareness and for the sake of pride and wealth, they (Golkar) are systematically fighting back against the anticorruption movement," Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) advisor Abdullah Hehamahua told a discussion here Tuesday.
The discussion, hosted by Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia, was called "Fighting the Counter-Attack by Corrupt People". It took place while Golkar was gathered for a four-day national leadership meeting in Jakarta.
Abdullah said the old regime is using Golkar, which has been trying to regain power, as its political machine to reverse the anti-graft drive. Golkar was Soeharto's vehicle during his 32-year reign, which ended in 1998. The strongman is widely accused of fostering a culture of corruption.
Abdullah said the party's opposition to the establishment of a new presidential advisory team to strengthen the fight against corruption reveals its blatant efforts to hinder reform.
The president's team is chaired by former attorney general Marsillam Simandjuntak, who is known for his anti-Golkar sentiments. It drew criticism from party leaders including Golkar's chair, Vice President Jusuf Kalla. Analysts say Kalla feared the team, called the Presidential Working Unit for the Management of Reform Programs, might target Golkar.
Abdullah said that with Golkar maintaining national prominence despite the 1998 downfall of Soeharto, reforms had failed to change the bureaucratic system. "And when the reform movement faces a deadlock, the party fights back," he added.
His opinion was shared by Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Teten Masduki, who said the old regime is "hijacking" the process. He said hope was fading for the country to strengthen such bodies as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to combat corruption.
Teten said the KPK should work hard to boost its performance instead of grumbling about its legal position, which is now tenuous since the law that created the KPK has been challenged in court. "We are hopeless if we only deal with this problem," he said.
He said the KPK was holding onto a time bomb by not arresting Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin for his alleged involvement in a corruption case at the General Elections Commission.
"The KPK only has six months left to act. By October (2007), its chief and deputy chiefs will be replaced. By May, Hamid will have to set up a selection committee. The minister, I think, should be named a suspect. His interests will surely influence the selection process," Teten said. Hamid, a close ally of Kalla, has denied the allegations.
Legal expert Eddy Hiariej from Gadjah Mada University said Golkar was responsible for the nation's chronic political corruption. He said those who profit from corruption were fighting back by mounting the Constitutional Court challenge to the law that created the KPK. The court is headed by former Golkar politician Jimly Asshiddiqie.
Former KPU chief and ex-Golkar politician Nazaruddin Syamsuddin and his colleagues, all convicted of graft, have asked the court to disband the KPK, saying its powers overlap with those of police and prosecutors. They have also challenged the KPK's authority to wiretap graft suspects and to investigate cases that took place before the commission's establishment.
The plaintiffs also questioned the KPK's inability to halt an investigation once it was started, saying it violated the principle of presumption of innocence. The court has begun hearing the plaintiffs' request for a review.